Chapter Text
Just earlier that day, a lab had run some tests on a parasitic wasp. The supplies had been thrown away, leaving small droplets of anti-bacterials, waters, chemicals, and whatever other substances that had been contaminated by the experents. But to an oozesquito, more specifically to the one that had been nearing the discarded waste, the wasp’s stinger seemed quite interesting.
The building was towering and eerie, even more so during the night. Lights from windows dotted the walls, illumating the dumpster below with menacing, distant white light.
The oozesquito buzzed closer, swiftly making its way to the discarded parts. It landed near the stinger, pricking its nozzle into the sharp tip.
Oozesquitoes were known for mutating other objects, but that time, that parasitic touch forced the mutation over itself. The oozesquito buzzed, shrinking back as its limbs stretched into a leaner form. The abdomen straightened and bent at its tip, the wings creased out into a more dynamic shape, and the long pipe adorning it’s face became the most dangerous part of it all:
The stinger.
The wasp-oozesquito flit back into the air, hovering awkwardly before fleeing.
It then had a new mission other than to mutate the humans.
It’s mission was to infect.
——
“Ah, curse you turtles!” Hypno cried before retreating. He left behind the treasured quartz of the museum, so Leo would call this a mission success!
“Easy peasy, Lemon squeeze-y!” Leo turned to his brothers, eyes closed triumphantly with his ōdachi slung over his shoulder. He bent sideways to pick up the gem, tossing it in the air towards Raph. His red brother caught it, and they all began to head back to the quartz’s rightful exhibit.
“We’ve been gettin’ better at this!” Mikey chirped, leaning forward to meet everyone’s eyes.
“According to my very precise calculations, I would agree.” Donnie contributed to the youngest brother’s excitement.
“We’re killing it at this hero thing!” Leo joined in, his stride becoming a bit more prideful. Raph placed the quartz back in its case, lifting his hands gently as to not disrupt anything else.
“Alright boys, mission success!” He cheered. They all did their respective celebration, then exited the building. They headed their way back to the lair while chatting about the fight. Mikey complimented everyone per usual, Leo boasted about his clever one-liners, Donnie typed away on his screen to review the battle stats, and Raph talked on about their fighting and “becoming heroes”. But they already were heroes! Atleast Leo considered it as so.
After around 5-7 minutes of traveling over the roofs, They were stopped by a familiar buzzing sounding from nearby. They all must’ve heard it, because they met eyes and carefully leaned over the edge.
There was a singular oozesquito speeding away from something, and by the uncoordinated way it was flying, it must’ve been fleeing for it’s life.
“An oozesquito!” Mikey gasped into the alley. The oozesquito rounded the corner, out of sight for just a moment before they were following behind it.
“Man, we have been seeing these so much lately! I’d say it’s bugging me.” Leo gave his brothers a smirk with his pun, just to receive 3 unimpressed glances. “Awww c’mon, it wasn’t that bad!”
He looked back down at the streets in defeat, only to see their target was gone. “There might be a bigger problem than whether or not you guys like my amazing one-liners!”
The others turned, all slowing their paces. Raph sighed, and Leo guessed he was probably being berated harshly in Raph’s mind. Mikey looked over at the eldest considerately, while Donnie peered over the ledge in front of them.
“Alright guys, we split up to try and find the oozesquito.” Raph announced. “We need to find as many of those as we can sooner or later.”
Mikey used his kusari-fundo to swing off into the city, Donnie began hovering over the roof-tops, Raph slipped away to re-trace their steps, and Leo jumped down into the alley below. He began wandering through the area, checking a few nooks and crannies along the way. About three blocks down he found some graffiti, admiring the craftsmanship for a moment before turning away.
He walked along a sidewalk, shaded by the buildings towering over him. Leo hummed a Theme from a Jupiter-Jim movie, bouncing his head along to it.
Bzzz
The slider fell silent for a moment, straightening to hear the sound again. He rotated, trying to spot the pest. It wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
Bzzzzz
He whipped ahead to an alley a few feet in front of him. When he peered inside, next to the waste bin lay an exhausted oozesquito. He blinked once. It had such an abnormal form to it. It had the signature lime glow, the long nose… mouth.. whatever it was called, and the beady purple eyes. Actually, scratch that. Leo thought. The eyes were now a more red-maroon color. But that was a minor difference.
The back of it had become thinner and pointed down at its end. The legs were slim aswell, with way too many joints. He didn’t want to count… ok, there were 4.
He set his ōdachi against the wall, trying to tip-toe to the oozesquito. He raised his hands, nearing the oozesquito with careful steps. Leaning over, he hovered closer and closer to the bug.
FWIP!
He trapped it with his right hand, shuddering as it zipped awake and squirmed.
“Eww…. That’s so disturbing..” He stuck his tongue out in discontent. Now what? He had the oozesquito, but what could he put it in? He started to peer around at the trash. He spotted a convenient jar, and began to reach for it.
That’s when he felt a prick in his palm that quickly began to burn.
His hand shot up, withdrawing from the harm. The oozesquito wobbled to its feet, probably disoriented from the panic. Leo grabbed the jar and shoved it on the oozesquito, then clasped his right hand.
In his palm, there was a small rip in his glove that he could only guess the oozesquito had done to bite him. He let a small gasp escape him, peering at it with a small pile of distress backing into his thoughts. He was already mutated, so the oozesquito must’ve not had any effects.
He rubbed his palm, looking back towards the oozesquito. It was climbing around the walls of the jar buzzing rather loudly. He frowned towards it. Even if it would just be an annoying bite, the oddity of the oozesquito left him with some alarm. He grabbed the jar’s lid, sitting down to time the closing. After about 15 seconds, he quickly lifted the jar and slapped the lid on, twisting it shut with his left hand to not irritate the bite.
He held up the jar proudly. He had the oozesquito! Or an oozesquito of some sort. He put in in his pouch and sling his ōdachi back over his shoulder.
He started on his way back, texting the others that he had it. He began to hum again, but his head hung a bit.
The bite had done nothing. It was an average bug bite for him. He was already mutated, and had been for years.
So why did his gut twist with the thought?
Don’t freak out over it. You’ll be fine.
Leo trusted the voice that whispered in his mind. He hoped it was right.